Ghost Hunt

Ghost Hunt is a 25 episode anime that is comparable to the shows Ghost Hunters and Ghost Hunters International that one can see on the Syfy channel. However Ghost Hunt is lead by a teenager and the focus of the anime is more to solve the crimes that are happening because of the supernatural rather than show that there is something there. I had the pleasure of talking about this anime on December 4th 2013 on a radio show that I had to do for a class. Most of what follows about the plot and characters are an adaptation of that radio script. Enjoy.

The main character in this anime is named Mai. She is the 16 year old high school student who gets involved with the Shibuya research Center when she messes up on an investigation that results in the assistant getting hurt. To make up for her blunder Mai is drafted into helping the manager finish the case he’s working on. As the anime goes on Mai starts to develop her own latent abilities that help to aid in latter case that Shibuya takes on. Her abilities include Post-cognitive dreams, clairvoyance and once case of astral projection. Seeing how she’s new to the field Mai lacks faith in her abilities often not voicing what she learns in her dreams but as the events unfold as she dreamed she slowly starts cluing the others into the info. When she dreams there is a character that looks like her boss the leads her to the information.

The leader of the Shibuya Research Center is a 17 year old named Kazuya Shibuya. He earns the name Naru from Mai on their first meeting for his narcissistic attitude, a name that is slowly picked up by the other characters in the anime. He may seem cold and distant to those around him but he cares for his friends and co-workers. For most of the series you come to believe that he is just the brains of the operation but at the end shocks everyone by showing just how much of his own power he possesses.

Lin is Naru’s assistant that Mai injures in the first episode of the anime. He seems to get stuck with the not so fun jobs but he’s the strong silent type who doesn’t gripe about it. Lin later tells Mai that he doesn’t like Japanese people because of the conflicts they have had with China which is where he’s from. When Mai starts to cry he amends his statement saying that his dislike for the Japanese has nothing to do with how he feels about her personally.

Joining this team of three are four experts in their field that come alongside the Shibyua team to help solve cases. The first is a Buddhist monk called Takigawa. He isn’t the typical monk with the short hair and strict ways. His hair is long, has pierced ears and wars modern clothing when he’s not about to perform an exorcism. His day job is playing base guitar for a band. He can act as a leader when Naru is absent and acts like a protective older brother towards Mai.Ayako is a self-styled shrine maiden. She says self-styled because she didn’t grow up in a shrine but has doctors as parents. She has talent but often times she falls short of dispelling the demons in an area. This could have been because she draws her powers from living trees and most of the cases there don’t seems to be any trees around, oops. But she tries her best with what she’s got.

John Brown is a Caucasian Catholic priest for Australia who taught himself to speak Japanese so he has a noticeable accent in the anime. He helps the team out whenever he can. John exorcises demons be sprinkling holy water and reciting the first passage of John for the new testament. This method is most often used when the team is dealing with human possession.

The final expert to help out the team from time to time is the Spirit Medium Masako Hara. She is always wearing a kimono and is the only one in the group who can see spirits and tell the nature they have. Its rumored that she has feelings for Naru which makes Mai a little jealous but the girl eventually settle their differences over Naru.

There is another character that join the team later on. His name is Osamu and acts like an assistant to Mai as she assists Naru and Lin. On one case he poses as Naru. He has no Psycic abilities but his sharp mind and great work efficiency make him a great addition to the team.